Am I just busy, or could it be burnout?

When work pressures start to pile up, it’s common for the term “burnout” to crop up in conversation. Picture: Alamy/PA.

    Camilla Foster When work pressures start to pile up, it’s common for the term “burnout” to crop up in conversation.

But what does burnout actually mean? And how can you distinguish between being simply being busy and experiencing genuine burnout?

We spoke to some experts who pinpointed some key differences to look out for, and also suggested practical ways to manage and overcome this state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) assesses burnout using three core dimensions, which are measured through a set of different questions.

“The first criteria is emotional exhaustion and a sense of energy depletion on a regular basis,” says Dr Somya Pandey, specialty doctor in psychiatry at Cygnet Health Care.